A landmark settlement between the DOJ and Live Nation, the company behind Ticketmaster, has been branded a 'terrible deal' as more than two dozen states say they will refuse to sign it.
The provision settlement between the DOJ and Live Nation comes less than a week into an anti-trust trial. Under the proposed deal, Live Nation would pay around $200 million to participating states, cap Ticketmaster fees at certain venues, divest 13 amphitheaters, and stay under federal oversight. Ticketmaster would also have to open parts of its platform to other ticketing companies and limit exclusivity contracts with venues to four years, which the DOJ called a win for both fans and the industry.
But many state officials believe the settlement doesn’t go far enough in stopping what the case described as tactics to “suffocate the competition.” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that the agreement “fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case” and vowed that she and her colleagues would continue legal action.
“My attorney general colleagues and I have a strong case against Live Nation, and we will continue our lawsuit to protect consumers and restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry,” James said in a statement Monday.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson described the agreement as “a terrible deal” that was presented to states at the last minute.
"This case is about Live Nation and Ticketmaster harming consumers, trapping artists and driving up ticket prices. We will see them back in court, shortly,” Jackson said Monday, per the Associated Press.
New York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas and Maryland are among the states continuing the lawsuit, according to statements sent by several attorneys general, Politico reports.
Critics beyond state attorneys general have also weighed in. Stephen Parker, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association, representing independent venues and promoters, said the relatively modest settlement fund amounts to only a few days of Live Nation’s revenue and includes no specific protections for fans, artists or smaller venues.
“Live Nation’s reported settlement amount - $280 million - is the equivalent of four days of their 2025 revenue, which means they could potentially make it back by this Friday,” Parker said in a statement Monday.
“The reported settlement does not appear to include any specific and explicit protections for fans, artists, or independent venues and festivals. Reported details also indicate that ticket resale platforms could be further empowered through new requirements for Ticketmaster to host their listings, which would likely exacerbate the price-gouging potential for predatory resellers and the platforms that serve them. If these facts are true, NIVA views this as a failure of the justice system,” he added.
Manhattan Judge Arun Subramanian criticized the deal-making process, calling it “entirely unacceptable,” claiming that he wasn’t informed of it until late Sunday, days after the term sheet was signed on Thursday.
Ticketmaster and its parent company have long been criticized for the price of concert tickets.
In November 2022, the Ticketmaster website crashed after fans rushed to buy tickets to the U.S. leg of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. The resale cost of tickets for the tour rocketed in price, with some even selling for as much as $22,000.
In 2023, Robert Smith, lead singer of The Cure, said that he was “sickened” after fans shared screenshots of the cost of seeing his band live. According to him, his band had set the prices for tickets but not for resale prices.
A senior Justice Department official - who was granted anonymity by Politico - defended the settlement, claiming it will impact ticket prices down the line.
“It really sort of weakens what was previously this stranglehold that Ticketmaster.com had,” the senior official said. “Now people can buy tickets on a variety of platforms, which opens up the ability for competition to happen. And so that’s where you’re going to see prices change significantly.”
The Independent has contacted LiveNation and the DOJ for comment.
The settlement forces Ticketmaster to open its platform to competitors, so companies like SeatGeek and StubHub can sell primary tickets through the system for the first time. These rules, aimed at boosting competition and giving fans more options, will stay in place for eight years.
Live Nation controls roughly 70 to 80 percent of live events in the US, and in 2025 raked in $25 billion in revenue. With ownership or booking rights for over 460 venues worldwide, the company wields massive power over which shows take place and how tickets are priced and sold.
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